Thirteen Titans Why
by DarkDiDlly
Summary: Raven's Thirteen Reasons. Rated M for safety
1. Prologue

**I own nothing.**

Tape One

_Hello boy and girls, Raven, former Titan, here. Live and in stereo. No return engagements, no encore. And this time, absolutely no requests. Try not to be alarmed, I can't hurt you, not from where I am now. I hope you're ready because I'm here to tell you the story of my life… more specifically, why it ended. _

_And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why._

_The rules are pretty simple. Number one: You listen. Number two: You pass it on. Hopefully neither will be easy for you. And you lucky number thirteen? Well you can take the tapes straight to hell. Depending on your religion maybe I'll see you there. In case you break the rules, understand I did make a copy of these tapes and those copies will be released in a very public matter if this package doesn't make it through all of you._

_This was no spur of the moment decision. Do not take me for granted. Again. You're being watched._


	2. Tape One Side A

This can't be happening. My little Raven is dead

_Reason Number 1#: _

Raven's tone rang with icy clarity, chilling me to the bone… as always,

_Ignorance_

_Sometimes when the sky is falls, people don't know why or when it started. _

_I can't remember when everyone started looking away. It had to have been weeks before I realized that everything seemed… quieter in the Tower. Why Starfire stopped knocking on my door, or Beastboy ceased telling me bad puns and knock-knock jokes. Cyborg wouldn't ask for help repairing his T-car, and even Robin seemed more distant. _

You always liked a quiet, calming atmosphere, Raven. Why end everything over that.

_At first, I enjoyed it, but not long after I started pushing to get attention, rattling of lame lines and suggesting for Pizza trips more often. Sometimes, I even cracked a smile. Anything to not be invisible._

_Until I found out the reason: Someone had started a rumor. About me. One that wasn't even remotely true. One with a certain thief snuggled up in my bed sheets. _

Oh my god…

_Then I wanted to be swallowed up in a dark hole, never to be seen again._

_Robin, were you jealous?_

Why would Birdbrain start a rumor like that? It seemed so… un-heroic.

_I've wracked my brain for reasons, but haven't found any worthy of a lie like that. We were friends, teammates. We had a bond. Why would you ruin that? I mean, I did beat you at chess a few times, but that doesn't seem right._

_Was it because I turned you down when you finally got the balls to ask me out? _Robin asked Raven out? I thought he was in it with the alien.  
_ You were already in the bases with Starfire, did you really need another play toy for your leisure? The rich playboy who had everything needed his dick in a few other things. I mean seriously, you had Starfire! She's way prettier than I am. Was._

I disagree. You were better all around.

_And when the birdie flew around and got his wing dinged he need to go and clip another's. He needed to see them fall from the sky._

_I'm sorry, Robin, but that didn't seem worth it to me._

I am going to kick that Blunder Bird's ass. I hit a button, and in a cloud of electricity, appear on the roof of Titan's Tower. I kick open the roof-entrance, and drop inside.


	3. Tape One Side B

_Starfire…_

_I know you knew. Robin wanted more than you. He needed one more thing to screw._

Raven's laugh hammered my tired ears through my worn ear-buds. She always had the most beautiful laugh, even more special because it was so rare. She did, but this one sounded cold, tired, meaning-less: A cruel sound that should have never had to leave her lips.

_I'm a poet, and I didn't even know it._

No, Raven. Poetry is a wonderful, distinct art, this is an atrocity, like all of the books from Azarath you read to me. When did you turn so bitter? I should have tried harder to keep you up.

_You were jealous. Of me! Why? Because a horny teenager needed a little more. Starfire, I never wanted Robin to like me, or rather want me. I'd apologize, but I had told you this many times, you refused to accept it was Robin's fault. He was just too perfect._

_In later tapes you will learn that he is far from it._

CRASH! Startled be the noise, I hit pause. I ready my x-shuriken. I glide through the corridor, my muted feet treading the carpet. I stick my head into the room of the location of the noise. I witness Cyborg blubbering over his crushed computer. "….raven…why?" he stutters. He punches the pile of nuts and bolts again. "WHY!"

I put away the shuriken.

I walk up to stand behind him, and put my hand on his shoulder. He doesn't budge. He just kneels there, as broken as his smashed machinery.

"I'm sorry for your loss…" my robotic voice rings. He turns his head, his miserable human face in complete contrast to his cold, robotic side. He looks straight through my mask and into my soul. He knows who I am. He knows my name; he knows everything about me, just from that one look. I'm sure of it.

I back up, and put my hand to my teleporting device, pushing. "Thank you…"

I stop cold, and pull my hand away from my escape, "…for everything you did for Raven."

Realization dawns on me, "You listened to the tapes; you're on the tapes," rage builds, and scarlet tugs at the edges of my vision.

He shakes his head grievously. "I haven't heard of any tapes, but Raven told me lots of things about you, Dameon."

At the sound of my name, I tense up and hit the teleportation button. He stops my arm before it makes contact, up and at my side faster than any giant metal-man should ever be. He holds my tiny, fragile limb in his giant, robotic hand.  
"I'm not telling."

Three forlorn words that told me everything I needed to know. He walks over and falls to his knees once more.

Taking his cue, I walk out of the room and hit play.

I'm not done with the Titans yet.

_The first night I told you was when we had one of our trademark sleepovers. After tossing Beastboy the Peeper out of your room, I told you of Robin's date-proposal. _

_Your eyes shone green. Your fist balled. You shot a starbolt at the wall, blowing a hole into Cyborg's room. Luckily, he was down in the garage, and didn't see what had happened. Later, she blamed it on a nightmare panic._

Liar

_You told me you were sorry, that I should leave and never speak to you again. You didn't call me 'Friend-Raven'._

_ I tried to reason with you, telling you I turned him down and that he still loved you, but you exploded. _

_You've all seen the little scar above my eye, that's the shape of Starfire's fingernail, which I plucked out myself. She also second-degree burned my legs, which is why I altered my leotard into a full bodysuit._

_I didn't feel like erasing the scars that you left; the damage you dealt hit deeper than you could have ever imagined. The reminder was there to say, "Hey Raven, remember when you lost your one and only friend." I remember…_

I'll never forget.

_And no one questioned my change of style; they assumed I was sick of looking like a stripper._

You told me that the scar was from falling off of the Titan's Tower. I knew you were lying, but you never liked it when I got into your business. I'm sorry I didn't try harder to get the real answer.

_None of you cared; none of you noticed, and the few that did care…  
Well, you will find out what happened to them in later tapes._

_Switch sides._

I stride into Robin's office, only to find it completely trashed. I weave through the reckage, avoiding tipped furniture and burned files; searching for anything that survived, and found Robin's mask, torn and battered, on the floor next to a bullet shell and a handgun.

It looks like Birdboy already heard the tapes.


	4. Tape Two Side A

I hang outside of Starfire's bay-window, watching Silkie roll around in… catnip, maybe? Knowing Starfire, I doubt that very much. Lucky for me, Starfire is absent at the moment.

I break the window, causing an earsplitting shatter, knowing no one will investigate the break-in. I know a lot of things these days.

I kneel beside Silkie, and pet it for a little while. He…She…It purred lovingly, enjoying the long-needed attention. When I get up it whines, and wiggles out of the mystery shavings.

Leaving the room, I pick up the squirming worm and tuck it under my arm. It goes back to purring. I resolve to take it to Cyborg. Maybe it will cheer him up.

I flip the tape over, and insert it back into the player. Why would she record on something so old? No one has a tape recorder these days. Then again, why would she create such a horrible thing, or commit suicide?

Raven didn't want to leave any questions behind.

I press play.

_Terra,_

_Such a pretty name, for such a pretty girl. And you are just… so perfect, right?_

_Wrong._

_I knew you were trouble from the beginning. You may have fooled the others, but you didn't fool me. I knew about your little fiasco from the beginning, but did anyone listen to me?_

_No._

_And I'm not talking about when you were working for Slade. No, you had me spinning just as much as everyone else when you pulled that one from your sleeve._

_When you turned to stone, it was one of the biggest reliefs of my life. Of course, I couldn't tell anyone that._

Yes, you could have told me. Maybe then I could have helped you. Caught you in your downfall…  
Shoulda-Coulda-Woulda

_Sure, go ahead and hate on me. Say, 'Oh, Raven, you are such an overreacting bitch, stop being so selfish.' If I told you I would become an outcast, oh wait. I already was._

Raven, you never were. Why did you see yourself as that?

_Truth be told, I wasn't relieved because of me._

_ I was because of Beastboy._

_No, I didn't want to be with Beastboy. I never picture him as that. He was more of… a little brother. Cyborg could relate._

Liar.

_Terra was NOT good for Garfield. She could never be able to… commit to a relationship. That just wasn't who she was._

_Now, I never had anything against Terra. She seemed like a decent person. There was just something… off about her. She was going to bring Beastboy down. _

False.

_So, when she came back and everyone loved her automatically, you can imagine my turmoil. _

Why can you still not tell me the truth?

_By now, I predict that my audience is in the stage of denial. To clarify, yes, I definitely sent it to you, and everything I say is the absolute truth. Now, why would the dead girl lie?_

_Hey, that sounds like a joke. "Why would a dead girl lie? She can't stand up."_

Sick, just… sick. Raven, you are a terrible person. I-I can't believe you. How could you do this to me?

I lose control and punch a wall. It crumbles apart. Jesus, I thought the compound of the home of freakin' superheroes would be sturdier. The pain in my now broken hand brings me back into the real world.

It dawns that I never left Starfire's room, and that I just punched through the wall that led into Cyborg's room. I'm glad that Cyborg isn't there, because I fell to my knees. Sobs rack my frail body that hadn't eaten since Raven…

My mind returns to the tape just in time to here:

_- walked into the room just in time to witness Terra stab Beastboy through the heart…_

_With a jagged knife embroidered with Beastboy's blood and intestines._

Holy Shit

_I went berserk. Rage took over my entire my, my two eyes grew to four, my hands turned to claws, my cape bled into a fiery red. I swept up Terra in a wave of black magic, and I…I…_

_I got blasted by Cyborg's sonic-cannon._

…no

_ My world went from red to black, taunted by manic female laughter._

_When I woke up, Cyborg told me that Terra had fled and Beastboy…_

_…was gone._

She choked on the last two words. The first emotion she had expressed in the tapes. I have a feeling it will be the last. I hold back the urge to projectile vomit all over Starfire's pink and fluffiness.

_Terra._

_ You took away my little brother. You slaughtered him. In cold blood. That day, I vowed to find you, and to splatter you across the wall. I will find you…_

_And this time there will be no one to hold me back._

_My first clue was the knife that you had so mistakenly left behind… inside Garfield's chest. When I ripped it from his corpse and cleaned it I noticed a mark. A very distinct marking._

_The mark of Scath…_

_And I knew where I needed to start my hunt._


	5. Tape Two Side B

_I started taking anti-depressants. Garfield's… departure was very hard on me. Part of it, I think, was I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. Cyborg isolated himself in his room, not emerging for anything, not even calls from the city, and there was no way I could talk to Starfire about it._

_I just needed something solid in my life. They fit the package._

_ It wasn't a serious addiction-_

Liar

_I could have dropped them at any time. I took them because I… wanted them._

_I just needed something to lean on._

_Now, I want you to listen to my prerecorded conversation that I added on for your entertainment._

_-Right now, I want to join Robin in a little game. I'm leaving the tape-recorder running…_

God, Dick, don't do anything stupid. The sound jumbles up, and then settles as if it was set up somewhere it would hear the battle.

_"Raven…" _

Robin's voice rings, strange and metallic coming from the little box.

_"Robin." _

_"Raven, don't act smart around me. I know you had something to do with Terra's… sudden turn."_

_"I had nothing to do with her surprise brain damage."_

_"You're holding something from me. You know something the rest of us don't. What is it?"_

_"I don't know what you're talking about."_

After a distorted SLAP, and some shuffling, and a thump the conversation continues…

_"LET ME UP."_

Raven's voice is icy and serious. If she was even the slightest bit it was sucked out in those three words. They froze me to my core.

**_"_**_WHERE IS TERRA?"_

Neither of their voices rose above a whisper, but would scare the antlers off of Trigon.

_"HOW THE HELL WOULD I KNOW?"_

_"YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT! YOU WANTED GARFIELD DEAD AND I WANT TO KNOW WHY!"_

_…_

_…_

_…"You thought I had something to do with that."_

The pain was etched in her voice. My innards boiled.

Robin back-peddled, fast.

_"I-I mean, you were there. I want to know if you know any extra information."_

_"I'm sorry, I don't know anything more than you do."_

_"LIAR!"_

Raven starts screaming.

_"YOU CALL ME A LIAR! I DON'T GO AROUND SPREADING RUMOURS ABOUT MY FRIENDS. HOW COULD YOU GO AND RUIN MY LIFE LIKE-"_

Her voice is muffled. I can hear Robin's desire through the smacks in ear-buds. I start hearing lustful approaches through the head-phones. I can practically feel Raven struggling to get him off of her. He must have used something to impede her powers. The movements get more frequent. Raven starts sobbing.

Something explodes through the box.

…

…

Shuffling

_Robin's going to be short a dick for quite a while now._

_I'm moving out of Titan's tower._

_-To learn more, switch sides._

_And Robin, honey, stick around. I'm not done with you yet._


	6. X

I wander the tower in search of Cyborg. Silkie whines and wriggles in my arms. I stroke his slimy head, coming to the conclusion he is a male. Setting him down in the foyer, I decide to raid the fridge. I take one look into the squirming, blue fuzz and slam to door shut, barricading it with my body.

The foyer is very lucid at night, so I understand Raven's fear when she created the horror-fest a few years back. She told me the story when I had taken her to a haunted house. She tore out a wall and almost crushed a worker there when he sprayed her with a compressed air hose in one of the dark hallways. I laughed hysterically until she cuffed me. She has a mean right hook. Had.

But back to the foyer, the shadows are starting to send chills up and down my spine. I run to turn on the light, by the door, but when I flip the switch the lights flicker and die quickly. Power out.

The chills become more intense. I scratch at my twitching spine. I feel a tickle on my hand as well. I jerk my hand to my face, struggling to see in the dark. To no avail, I give up on scratching and let the chills consume my body. I walk over to the bay-window to look out at the ocean.

Raven used to tell me about standing for hours at this window, watching the waters shimmer under the sunlight. She claimed to have come here during the night too, when everyone was asleep. She said she could she little rainbow fish dance in the moonlight, splashing about in the clam waters.  
Strangely, no one ever rode boats in the bay, as if they were afraid of the wrath of the Titans, even though they would probably never do anything. I've heard rumors that Robin beat up a poor fisherman for paddling out in his canoe to cash some food for his poor family. Even if he is a complete douche, I never can picture Robin doing that. He has a reputation to keep.

Lightning flashes across the room, illuminating the fridge, the ground, and my reflection.

Spiders crawl up and down my suit. Real, four eyed, demon spiders.  
Everywhere.

I shout. Spinning quickly and swatting at myself, I toss the demon-spiders off and step on them, not squashing one. They nimbly avoid my clunky boots, and shoot back up my legs. I shake them off and run to the sliding doors leading out of this hellish room. When the doors open, a slimy figure with red glowing eyes and multiple sets of tentacles slithers in. The creature of the scary movie Raven had watched that horrific night. He wraps a tentacle around my arm. I whip out a shuriken 'x' and severe the limb from the mass of slime.

Ripping the severed tentacle from my arm, I sprint to the next doors, but strange rats appear and pile up in the doorway blocking the exit. They fall on my head with the intent of swallowing me whole, but a millisecond before the closest rat could touch me I throw the limb at it and teleport away. Appearing in front of the bay window, I charge through the glass and launch myself into the lake. After falling in perfect dive form for ten stories, piercing the delicate waters. Making a big swoop under the waves, I break the surface in a matter of seconds, but as soon as I take a breath I pluck my head back under the water.

Every few minutes I would need to bob up for air, but I stayed in the water for over thirty minutes. Once my balls grow back and my fear diminishes I climb onto the island of the Tower. I still need to check on Cyborg. Hopefully, he was able to escape the rats and spiders. I press the button of my transporter, but nothing happens. Great, jammed at a time like this. I set on hacking the access code.

As my fingers tap on the screen, I wonder how the monsters in the main room had come back. Raven created them with her powers, the first time, but Raven is dead. They should not have come back…

Maybe her power is still lingering from the attack of Trigon. It might have not been fully transferred back to her…  
Maybe when she died her soul escaped and she haunts the tower to this very day…  
Maybe her dying wish was to grant Cyborg her powers and he watched a terrifying horror movie tonight…

Could she be alive?

No. The Titans found her body, cold and clammy in her room. They sent pictures to the press. They were awfully public about the whole fiasco.

Strange thing, though. She had no funeral.

No open casket, no prayers, no nothing. Did they want to keep it private? If they wanted to, then why all of the news coverage?

So many questions, but my main question, the question haunting my dreams and my every thought:

Why?

Why, Raven? You had me. You could have talked about it. I could have protected you, taken you away from these terrible people. I could have saved you from them. I could have saved you from yourself. I loved you Raven. I still do.  
And I miss you, so much.

Finally, the door clicks and slides open. Who would have thought the Titan's passcode would be 'Hot Tamales'. That's Cyborg for you.

I cautiously prowl into the Tower, holding shuriken and goo 'x's. The basement of Titan's Tower is even creepier than the foyer.

I slowly stalk to the doorway to the staircase. I open the door, but there is no stairway. There isn't a door to the staircase. It is a closet, a simple closet, about 3' by 4', but it is what's in the closet is what matters. Something terrible, something truly awful.

Oil and blood stained the floor. Electricity fizzed in the air.

There, in the closet in a broken heap, lie Cyborg, with a knife, and without a head.

Suicide.

**A/N: Sorry for not updating soon, but I am flat out of ideas. I thank the people who have PM'ed me with some, but it is not enough to add up to make the story. Please voice any ideas to me that you have. **


	7. Shadows in the Dark

Chapter four

Cyborg deserved a proper burial, so I dug a trench behind the tower, and gave blessings before tossing his electronic carcass into the dirt. In a different universe, I am sure we would be step-brothers. Rest in peace, big guy.

Surprisingly, the tape-recorder isn't waterlogged. As I tap the play button, Raven's sickly sweet voice echoes in my recesses. Life is cruel.

I sway as I march off into the tower, once again.

_I left the tower. Funny, how almost being raped by your leader and closest friend can alter your view... _

_And your self-esteem, and your friendship, and anyone else that tries to get close to you._

_Oh well, not like any of those things mattered anyway._

_I moved in with the Titans East, if any of you are wondering. They were kind, and as helpful as always, true heroes in my book. _

_Most of them, anyways..._

I teleport into Cyborg's room. Or his old room. It used to be his room. I scoop up Silkie and push my T-button, materializing in a city ally's shadows. Silkie had no reason to be left in the dank, rotting hallways of that depression suicide-factory, anyways.

_A little fly couldn't keep her little wings to herself. She couldn't mind her own time, and stay out of my way._

_Someone found a bottle. One of my bottles. One that had recently been refilled with anti-depressants. A prescription for someone who had the right to swallow those pills whenever she felt the time…_

Her voice began to rise. I wrapped my cloak around Silkie's non-existent ears, not wanting him to hear the rage radiating from the cassette, trying to vainly protect what was left of the tiny mutant thought processes. It probably wouldn't affect him, but a little part of me needed to feel wanted.

_She invaded my privacy, my rights, and my trust, once again. This girl couldn't leave it be and mind her own god damn, fucking business! WELL, BUMBLEBEE! GO FUCK A HORSE!_

…_poor horsey…_

_*sigh*_

I hit the button again, but the ally walls still remain. Once more, and another time. The suit must be low on zynothium. Damn it.

_Now, I honestly don't see how I was so aggravated about those mundane matters. Almost childish._

Yeah, childish…

I slip around the corner and prowl into a supermarket, snatching a sweatshirt and dashing into the bathroom before the cameras could spot my black tights. I slip it on over my uniform and unlatch my mask, comb my fingers through my thick, black hair and tuck Silkie into the folds of the sweatshirt; I appear to be a normal guy on a stroll in the dark.

I grab a candy bar and pocket it, then stroll out of the store undetected. I begin to ramble up the sidewalk; enjoying the chilly night air in the time before I reach my next destination.

_Sometimes I wish it would all go away…_

It did. And it will never come back.

As I stop to turn off the depressing commemoration, a shadow freezes in the same matter from a man further behind me on the side walk. Assessing the situation, I begin to walk again, slowly. The shadow begins to move too.

I walk slower and slower, but the figure walks faster and faster. Suddenly, it breaks into a sprint. I pull out my shuriken and throw them. The figure dodges them with grace. I throw an adhesive shuriken at him, but he weaves around that too. He throws a small shuriken at me, at which I avoid easily.

Without realizing it, I step right into his landing path. He jumps on top of me, using he boots to slam me to the ground. Without my mask, my head has no protection, and knocks the concrete, blurring my vision distastefully. Surely I am finished; I can't reach any of my tools in this position. I wait for the finishing blow.

I feel a weight lifted from my chest, and hear footsteps in the distance. My eyes being no help, I feel the back of my head and pull my hand away to the feeling of warm liquid. I check Silkie to find him okay in a nearby dumpster. He must have jumped out of my coat when the scuffle began. Good boy.

I pet his head and slip him back into my hoodie. He mews and curls up against my warmth. I continue to walk until I fully regain my sight. I slip my hands into my pockets, to have my left brush up against a piece of paper. I pull out the card and walk to the nearest street light.

_705 Hillberry St., Steel City 5:00 PM; Tomorrow  
Come Alone_

Great, that is just the direction I am heading too. I turn on the recorder and hit play.

_Let me start at the beginning, I was laying on my dull sheets in my new, already trashed room, as Bumblebee burst through the door, without knocking I add, and…_


	8. Titans East Hospitality

I walk up to Titans East Tower. It took me all night to walk here, and I have jet lag, if that is even possible. My head pounds as if it were about to crack like a watermelon, and all of my brains would splatter across the welcome mat. This is why I rang the doorbell with no consideration of the fact that I am a wanted criminal and that it is their sworn duty to take down 'scum like me'.

I wait for about a total of five seconds, until Aqualad opens the big, grand doors. Cyborg really did a good job building; Raven told me about how he started the Titans East and almost left the team to lead them. I wonder where he would be if he had stayed with them.

Joining the world, once again, I find Aqualad gaping in horror at me, almost like a fish. Maybe that is where he got his title.

"What happened to your head?!" Oh yeah, I forgot that I almost cracked my head open last night, maybe that is the source of my jet lag. He grabs my arm and pulls me inside, making me stumble more than I was before. I am dragged, thrown, tossed, and shake until we reach the infirmary, where Aqualad wraps a bandage, tight, around my fore arm and begins to jab an I.V. into my wrist.

I yank my wrist from his sweaty grasp, "I'm fine. There is no need for that." He grabs my wrist again, "Are you crazy? There is so much blood died to your skull I am surprised you can even speak!" He pokes the needle at my wrist again, so I rip away and tear of the clothe constricting my arm. He lunges for me, "You need medical attention!" I dive out of the way and plant my foot on his back, throwing him into the pale, pasty wall. "No, I don't!" He jumps up, and this time we engage in hand to hand combat. He jabs I block. I throw a hook, but he deflects it. Silkie wriggles in my shirt. I do my best not to startle him. This continues for quite a time. Jab. Block. Hook. Block. Kick. Deflect. Punch. Block.

When I am done with our little game, I faint punch him in the stomach, which tries to block, then I clock him in the jaw. Silkie squeals. He spirals across the floor, holding his jaw. He kneels there, across the room, glaring, but he does not get up. I stand in the doorway. I sway a little bit, but hold my ground. My brain pounds in my head, and I think I reopened the wound in the tussle, because I feel a warm liquid flowing down my neck.

I'm very tired, so I don't notice when Bumblebee sneaks up behind me and knocks me in the back of the head with a vase. I crumple on the floor, and black out.

Raven is right, Bumblebee is a bitch.

*Two hours later*

I wake to the smell of disinfectant. My arms are strapped to a bed, and I hear the steady beat of my heartbeat on the monitor. Damn, he got the I.V. in my arm. My vision is blocked by bandages wrapped around my head. This is a setback.

I test the restraints on my wrists, arms, torso, thighs and ankles. Constricting and stout. When I go to lift my head pain shoots through my skull. I settle to call for the Titans. "Murse-e… murse… Nurse…NURSE!" I thrash around, forcing the beeps from the monitor to sound rapid and disoriented. Finally, Aqualad runs through the door. I find satisfaction in the bruises on his face and the limp in his step.

He cups his mouth and shouts to the door, "He's awake!" then he faces me, "How are you feeling?" His black and blue face shows real concern, but he still looks like a flounder. I throw him a glare, "Fine, now let me up." He smiles, "Can't do that, we know who you are…"

Crap. The beeps speed up rapidly. They're going to throw me in a cell, and then I can't go to the address the shadowy figure gave me and kick his ass, then come back and skin Aqualad alive…

"… You're the one who was attacked, last night. A shop clerk reported a fist fight outside of his store, late, but when we arrived there was only a puddle of blood and a mask with an X on it," he scrunches his face, "Did you get a good look at the other guys face?"

My heart rate relaxes, hopefully he thought nothing of it, and I stutter, "...I-I don't know. It was real-ly dark and I could barely see two feet in front of me-e…" He nods, "I understand, sir, but next time, when someone offers you help, take it in a less violent manner." I nod quickly. He stands up to leave, but I remember something.

"Where are Silkie and my Walkman?" He turns around, and looks at me darkly. He deadpans, "Bumblebee has them. You can see her as soon as Mas-e-Menos checks you out." He turns and rushes out the door, limping quicker and angrier than before.

As he walks out, a white and red flash streaks into the room. Suddenly, my sheets are fluttering in the air. My hair blows, and I feel tiny hands probing my entire body. I feel needles pierce my body, and pull out just as fast. At one moment I swore I felt one of those little sticks on my tongue where you are supposed to say "Aww…"

After a total of five seconds, the flash halts next to my bed, mutters something in Spanish, hands me a clipboard, and exits the room. It takes me a bit to find that my restraints had been removed during the examination. I stand, waver, and then walk out of the door. No alarms are set off. I stop to look at the clipboard thinking that it would tell me my condition and all of the meds I need to take, but I find it says "Fine," In big red letters, and "Interrogation Room A." Is that where Bumblebee is? Why would they have interrogation rooms? I walk down the hallway in search of the alleged room.

As I turn the corner, I am pulled into a dark room. When the lights come on, I see a refrigerator, a counter top island, and other kitchen faculties. Bumblebee is sitting at the little plastic table off to the side. I assume it is the dining room. I sit across from her. Silkie, out of nowhere, jumps into my lap and purrs. I see my Walkman, destroyed, and tapes sitting on the table next to Bumblebee. She has a grim look on her face. We sit in silence, until I start the conversation.

"This interrogation room is quite nice."

**Finally! I have time to write. Sorry for no updates, but no time. I plan on updating a couple more times within the week. The tapes of Raven will be back in the next chapter. Read and Review**


	9. A Hell of A Day

"Cut the Crap!" Bumblebee showers me in her saucy attitude. "How did you get Silkie, and why are you listening to tapes that are personal property of Raven?!" She slams her fist down on the table, rattling the wreckage of my Walkman. Funny, how it survives jumping out of a building, soaking in water, and fighting with a shadow ninja, but one sock from a fish-boy and it crumples.

How easy it is to lie…

I use my most smooth and nonchalant voice, looking her straight in the eye, "I found the worm on the street the other day. Silkie, you called it? It was starving and drinking out of the gutter, so I picked it up and fed it, and it grew on me. As for the Walkman, I have owned that for many years. I was listening to the tapes of my favorite fairy tale. 'A Testament of the Shadows'" The names that I pulled sounded so corny, that I almost gave up right here and turned myself in. I really need to acquire a vaster imagination.

She stands up and walks around the table, leaning over me and glares right into my soul. "I have never heard of a more bull shit," I cuss inwardly, "so where did you get these tapes." I watch my words a tad more as they spew from my pie-hole. "I tell the truth, my grandmother gave me these tapes, such a sweet piece of my childhood…" I gaze into the distance, putting my best 'living the past' face on. She looks at me in utter distaste. "Alright, where is your grandmother, now?" This aggravates me. This bitch really sticks her nose in deep, doesn't she? No wonder Raven hated yellow-striped whore. The fluorescent light flicker as the next thing that I say slips out.

"She died when I was twelve years old. I'm sorry for loving my grandmother enough to cherish the stories she told me on her death-bed. That's her voice on the tapes." My voice chokes and my anger bombards her ugly face. To tell the truth, my grandmother lives in a fancy old folk's home, and I hate her guts, but I am not telling Bumble-Bitch this. I begin to stand to leave.

She looks taken aback. She takes a couple of steps back, surprised by the bite she got from sticking her hand so far up my ass. "I'm so sorry, sir, but these things seemed like things that have recently passed through the tower," So, these idiots felt Ravens fury, too. I wonder what everyone else did. "You have my grievances. May I ask you a few more questions?" She sits back down in her chair across from me, and crosses her arms on the table. I sit down, too. For about another hour, she asks me stupid questions, in a much softer voice, but I answer with the same snarky-ness. Finally she excuses me. "… and feel free to stay as long as you want. Just ask if you need anything." She scurries out of the 'interrogation room' like the striped rat that she is.

I get up to look in the fridge, because I am starving. Opening it with a tiny click, I find that everything soaks in a blue slime. I dig and dig, but the entire contents swim in mucus. I settle for a slice of pizza with 'minimal' slime and walk out of the kitchen, but not before looking at the clock.

2:00

As I walk through the sliding door of the Titans East foyer, my slimy pizza flies from my hand with an inaudible red and white flash. I don't chase it, because I had no intent of eating that thing any way.

I can say one thing, the Titans East is nothing compared to the original Titans Tower. They have a swimming pool in the foyer, but that is about it. They don't have the circular couch, or the big screen, or even a decent few out of the bay window. I think Cyborg ripped them off.

Aqualad dives off of the balcony into the pool, so I head over there. I strip off my shirt and dive in, glad to have the dirt-caked layer off of my skin. Stroking through the crystal clear water, I enjoy the chilly feeling from the bottomless pool. I push myself to Fish-boy and tap him on the shoulder. In return I get a face-full of spray. I kick a fine wash all over him, and he pulls me under the surface. Dragging me deeper and deeper, I struggle against him, flailing me feet and arms.

My oxygen levels becoming dangerously meek, I pull myself down, and swat fish-boy in his sniffer. He looks up, and grins goofily at my rightly purple-ing face. The water suddenly starts rushing by in the opposite direction. I break the surface and take a giant gulp of oxygen, than I spray Aqualad in the eyes with my back-paddle as I rush to land. I cling to the edge. He looks at me, still proud of his little joke, so I spray him one more time. He puts up his arms, shielding his eyes, "Okay, I get the hint," I stop, so he swims over and raises himself onto the side, hoisting me next to him. "What brings you to my waters?"

I kick a little water, deciding to throw it out there, because he seems like a decent guy, unlike Bumblebee. "Actually, I'm following the tapes," I stare at him straight in the eyes. He looks at me, and then looks at the rippling water, trying to avoid the conversation. "Did Raven have a special connection with you?" He keeps his eyes on the water. I grow impatient, and almost get up to walk away before I die of boredom, but he starts…

"I never really talked to Raven… We would work on missions and take down villains together, but I never got up the nerve to talk to her… Unlike some people…" He glares over at Speedy, conversing at the table with Bumblebee. I make a quick note of that in my head. "…But yeah, I got the tapes, then I had to send them to Jinx. What tape are you on?" He looks at me suspiciously. It's my turn to stare at the water.

"I don't know. I was listening to the tape on Bumblebee, so I haven't come up…" He looks at me curiously, mulling the list of people over in his head. He has a sudden realization, "I never knew got your name…" He looks at me expectantly. I sigh, "Damian…" He asks me, "Are you Goth Boy[i]?"

How does he know the alias that I use at the arcade? I try to process all the customers that come through the tiny crap-hole I work at, but I don't see Fish-Boy walking through the moldy flap that we call a door. I have no real reason to work there, but sometimes it was a good alibi when anyone would ask me where I was. I stare at him, trying to reply, but my jaws chain shut. Luckily, he takes my silence as confusion. "No, okay…" He starts to shuffle through his imaginary list again. My breath releases in a 'whoosh', but I quickly stop him before he attacks me with another answer.

"Did you ever overhear her talk about revenge?" His muscles stiffen, and I instantly know that he knows something. His voice squirts out rigid and brittle, "Let's just say that the tapes will answer your questions." He jumps to his feet, and almost dives back into the pool, but I grab his ankle. "I can't, my Walkman broke in the fight earlier," he blushes, "I can't listen anymore."

He shakes me off. "There is a Walkman in my room. Feel free to have it. Third floor, third room on the left." Taking a leap into the chilly water, he dives down deep, with no intention of coming back up anytime soon.

As I get up and head through the sliding doors to retrieve my new Walkman, I brush past Speedy. His icy skin makes me shake, and I decide that I am going to keep a close eye on this one.

5:00

After a long day of swimming and relaxation, I suit up, with my mask that I stole from the Titan's evidence locker, and found the warehouse that the shadowy figure so graciously slipped into my pocket when he cracked my skull open. The warehouse has shattered windows and some fresh graffiti tags clothing the chipping bricks. Obviously abandoned, because when I begin to pick the lock, the broken door swings open into its dark heart. I sneak inside, and become enveloped in the darkness.

* * *

_**[i]**_ _- Goth Boy is the young man in the skull t-shirt and with the jet black hair in the episode "Sisters" of the Teen Titans series. He is also features in Teen Titans Go issue 42#. He works at an arcade, and his name tag says 'Goth Boy", so we do not know his real name._

**Yayy! Aqualad! I ship AqualadxRaven too, but this is totally a RaexRed story. Read and Review!**


	10. Warehouse Nightmares

I press myself to cold iron wall, provoking a coat of dust to flutter away from the wall. I slide along it, careful not to make a sound, so the person waiting will not be alerted that I am here. I had replenished my zynothium levels earlier today, without the Titans' knowledge, of course, so I hit my teleport button, and appear in one of the iron rafters above. A rat skitters along another girder, his shiny eyes and twisting tail mesmerizing me for a brief moment.

As I perch of my rafter, I silently watch a figure, who's face I cannot identify, below stroll towards a big, plush chair and sits down. The figure crosses his legs, and rests his head on his fists, taking the position to wait. I begin to devise my plan of subduing the resting shadow, but a mechanical voice drones throughout the warehouse, echoing off of the walls. "Damien, come down here…" -A perfectly calm voice for a perfectly sadistic man.

Surprised at the sound of my name, I leap from my perch without a second thought, but soon regret it, for I find myself face to face with the most malevolent man I have ever known.

Slade.

A man I _used _to respect, for his entirety of ingenious plots and schemes, that he would tell the Titans he was doing it, and still got it done and escaped with the Titans up his ass. A man of a true evil mastermind.

I falter when I think of my hero, but Raven worms her way into my mind. She darkens my perception, and fire ignites in my heart. This man killed Beast Boy. He somehow forced Terra to do his bidding again, and convinced Trigon to give him back his fiery power, which I don't yet understand, but that makes me even angrier. He probably did all of this to mess with Raven, to drive her to insanity, to obsession, to suicide.

I squeeze the electricity shuriken that has magically appeared in my hand. I could kill this man with one hit of this high voltage baby. I lift my arm, and with a flick of my wrist I-

Find Slade grabbing my arm, twisting it behind my back, and holding me in fetal position. I am forced to drop the shuriken, which clatters on the dirt ridden floor. "Now, now, Damien, there's no need for violence."

"I'll kill you!" Not my stealthiest move, but my mind is so overpowered with rage that I can do nothing more. I twist and wriggle in his hold, sending my arm into greater agony. "Let me go so I can kill you!"

He chuckles, "My boy, I have no desire to let you free at this moment. For all I know, you could have been sent here on an assassination mission," I flail my head around, to try to hit his, but he twists my arm more, and I fall down to my knees. I scream a curse in his mother's name. " But no, if you meant to kill me when you came, I wouldn't be in the advantage right now." His monotone voice shows no emotion. It makes my stomach churn. Is this what he sounded like when he ordered Beastboy's death, and Raven's unhappiness. "So why are you here, my young Damien?"

His words make my vision blur with tears and a lust for shedding his remains. "You know why! You attacked me last night, and slipped a note with this address into my pocket!" My throat aches from all of my shouting, but they blare from my lungs without my consent. My tone screeches, the volume of it too much for the mechanical distortion to handle. I will rip Slade's head off without a second thought.

Slade pauses for a moment, as if mulling it over. He continues, and I hear a smidgen of interest in his robotic tone, "My boy, I did no such thing." I stiffen. He has no reason to lie to me in his position. He lets me go, furthering my confusion. He eye looks at me. "Someone sent you here, as a trap, Damien." My heart skips a beat, someone is trying to get me to kill Slade, or die trying. The monotone rings the question echoing in my mind, "But who sent you here?"

We stand there, staring at each other, poised for the other to attack, but neither of us move. We stand there, as if we were stone-cold gargoyles, my eyes looking into his mask and his looking into mine. It's almost a peaceful endeavor, but one question plagues my mind the entirety of the silence.

"How do you know my name?" I tilt my head, to express my confusion, because my distorter doesn't express it as much as I want it to. I would think that he would chuckle, as he would to all of my questions, but he doesn't laugh. A somber dexterity presses down on us like gravity. "I received the tapes." He knows I know exactly what he is talking about.

I shoot another, a bit surprised that Raven gave the tapes to a super-villain, and he sent them on, knowing that if they got out it would ruin the Titans forever. "Why did you send the tapes to the next person on the list?" At this I sense a smirk behind his mask, and my body stiffens for an attack, but he answers simply, "Because those tapes would tear the Titans apart more than any publicity ever would. It was almost too easy. In fact, the Titans already have crumbled. I am sure you are aware." He is lying, his voice shows no emotion, and his body doesn't move, but my senses tell me that he is, and I want the real answers. "You're lying." His mechanical eye widens, but soon returns to normal, with an extra gleam of amusement. "You think I am lying, dear Damien, but I can assure you, there is nothing more, and nothing less, to it." His tongue clicks as he finishes his reply, telling me that I will get no more of an answer from him.

Being down with this nonsense, I carefully and alertly turn towards the door. After all, this man could kill me with a snap of his fingers. I survey the dank, dirty warehouse once more, finding nothing in why Slade would stay in this dump, but not wanting to know the answer to that, though, before I close the door after me, I must know one more thing.

I turn towards Slade's inhuman mask one more time, sending chills down my spine. I want to run, but I need to know, "Why did you kill Beastboy?"

He chuckles with a sickening eeriness, sending spiders crawling up and down my back. His chuckle slowing escalates into a booming laughter, and then abruptly stops. He backs up into the darkness of the warehouse. "You, my dear Damien, are looking for another man in a mask."

With that, I turn on my heel and run, never looking back at the crumbling warehouse, but sure it would haunt my nightmares.

Forever.


	11. Tape Three Side A

_Betrayal is such an ugly thing. Betrayal is so hard, because sometimes trust is all you have to fall back on. I have been betrayed before, but I never expected you. I so had wished that I could trust you. _

_Cyborg._

I stop the tape, my brain in shock, and lay against the dull sheeted bed that had been so graciously provided by the Titans. My body is numb with shock. I can't contemplate why Cyborg would hurt Raven, his little sister. He was so upset when she was gone that he…

_I trusted you. I told you everything. I would even call you when I had moved to the Titan's East Tower, chatting about the ups and downs. You were my rock, and I crumbled when you pulled your support, and the Raven crashed closer to the ground, only skimming the rocky cliffs of Hell. _

_ I try to understand, but you knew me way longer than her. She was a criminal until she grew a brain and sought for a better living. I can't imagine what made you pick me over her. Maybe she gave you sexual favors._

Raven's facts aren't straight. Bumblebee was a double-agent when Cyborg snuck into the H.I.V.E. She helped him destroy them. Raven knew that.

_After I told you about my run in with Bumblebee, you went berserk. You sided with her, and you told me to never call you again. I kept trying, I dialed the number when I felt lonely, sad, angry, and even, happy, but every time the phone line picked up the voicemail, which you had changed to tell me to Fuck Off._

Raven's harsh voice morphs into a deep, sassy voice as she imitates Cyborg's voicemail.

_'Hi, this is Cyborg, I'm probably out busting bad guys butts or eating a delicious lunch, because I didn't answer the phone, but call back later, unless you are Raven. Then I tell you to __**stop calling me.**__'_

_It's funny, I've heard that so many times that I have it committed to memory. And of all of the times that I called you, I never left a message._

It's not funny, but I laugh any way; a bitter laugh that tears my soul into little pieces. I pet Silkie, that I have requested to let stay in my room, and try to comprehend Cyborg, who I now know nothing of, because my beliefs that he was a good man are now feuding with the tapes. Raven's voice is the mesmerizing siren of the Greek mythology, swaying my instincts and claiming that Cyborg was a rotten man, but it's almost as if she isn't saying it. I don't feel that she was thinking it either. It's almost like she was possessed. Raven would never do this to Cyborg, and visa-versa. Also, Cyborg told me that he had no knowledge of the tapes, which he should have received after Bumblebee.

_There was this one time though, that I had really needed to talk to you, something that I needed dire help with, because I couldn't handle what had happened on my own. I left a message, I was so desperate to talk to you. I quote, "Cyborg, please pick up. Something really bad has happened, and I can't trust anyone at the Titan's East. Please pick up, I am begging you. I can't handle this on my own."_

_I waited, and waited…. And waited, and waited. I spent my whole day sitting by the phone. You never called back. You never wanted to know. And because of you I lost all trust, and I never talked to anyone about my problem again._

_ But you know what, I will trust you. The thirteen of you listening, who had a hand in my death, who knocked me from the sky and let me fall. Those of you that should be the last people I trust on the Earth._

_Speedy raped me, and I knew that he would do it again if I didn't have help._

My muscles turn to stone. Fire burns in my heart, and my mind numbs with putrid thoughts. I punch the Walkman with my fist, smashing my second device of the week. Frantically, forgetting all about the hateful man who currently houses me, I pull out the tape. I check it over, and it seems undamaged.

I try to regain my anger, to let it fuel my vitals, but it sucks out of me, to be replaced by a sorrow for Raven, and a sorrow for Cyborg, and for myself. She could have talked to me. I could have, _should have_ been there for her, but I wasn't, and that puts me to a shame worse than Cyborg's. I bow my head

The tape is as its end, but I still know that I have more to hear.

Having no money on me to buy another device, I search through the pale dressers that sit against the colorless walls. I open the bottom drawer to the nightstand, but instead of money, a brand-new Walkman, with a post-it note attached to its top sits at its back. It reads 'For Damien'

I slowly lower myself to the floor, and try to comprehend why there is an untouched, dust-covered machine in this guest room, with my name on it. It's almost as if someone is tracing my actions, knowing where I will be before I am even there. A panic rises in my chest, and I scan the room for bugs, and cameras, but see none.

Someone is following me.

I am still, grasping the Walkman in my sweaty hand. Slade's final words to me return to my thoughts, _"You, my dear Damien, are looking for another man in a mask."_

A shiver snakes up my spine, and one man intrudes mind. One who's face has always been behind a mask.

Robin.


	12. Putting The Pieces Together

I squeeze the Walkman, as my ribs squeeze my heart. Robin has been following me, and I haven't noticed it the entire time. He was the figure that attacked me, led me to Slade, and probably even left me this Walkman, which has probably sitting in the back of that dresser for weeks, if not months.

But how would Robin have gotten this device in the drawer months ago? Raven lived here two months ago, so he couldn't have entered…

Unless Raven confused Robin for Speedy.

My brain drives into overload, once again. I can almost see my face transitioning into a maroon shade, like a tea-pot ready to explode. I narrowly avoid crushing the Walkman in my fist, instead hurling it into the bedspread, and slamming my fists on the ground. I rip the mask off of my face, which I had not taken off since my run in with Slade. It sprawls across the floor, fluttering off of the ground with each rabid motion I make towards he items in the room. I smash the dresser, and upturn the bed, and then I shatter the lamp against the floor. How could he have been here the whole time without my notice?!

The Walkman slides over to me by the rattling of the hardwood floor. In my rage, I raise my boot, ready to stomp the machine to obliteration, but I feel a cold sensation ripple down my spine, cooling my rage, and bringing peace to my mind. I whip my head around to find the cause of this unexplained feeling. I wouldn't have bothered, but it's almost… familiar to me, like an old face that I can't place a name to. My spine tingles long after that contact.

I slowly bend down to pick up the Walkman, my back arched and ready for attack, and then walk over to insert the next tape, because I feel the need to listen to a comforting voice.

I lower myself onto the bed and hit play. A singsong voice eludes my thoughts.

_'Which one of these things isn't like the other? Which one of these people just doesn't belong?' _

_Well, there is one person on these tapes that is different from the rest; someone that doesn't belong. This person isn't like the rest of you, but needed to hear the tapes. I want them to hear, and I think they wanted to hear this too, if only for closure._

Is she talking about me? My heart-rate quickens. It has to be me. I never committed any of the heinous things that the others did, at least not to Raven. A sigh flows from my chest, relaxing my body and freeing some of the strain that I have put on my sheets. It's terrible, but when you know that you aren't the cause of your love's suicide the tapes don't seem horrific anymore.

_You are here because you need to hear this, so please don't put down the recorder, if only for my sake. I know you are probably going to feel the unstoppable urge to turn this tape into the cops when you hear about the next few things, or even the previous events, but please don't. The people who receive the tape next need to hear this too._

_I'm sorry for what I did to you, but I left because I couldn't handle the pressure._

Left? I was with you until the very end, and I should have stopped you, I know, especially when you became estranged and distant, but I didn't, and I regret it every day. A tear runs down my cheek, and I wipe it away with my gloved hand, and kick some of the suddenly suffocating sheets off of the stiff and uncomfortable mattress with my boots. A tension rises in my chest, again.

_Thanks for standing by me, and everything else. I really appreciated your help, and I truly am very sorry, if only to you. Just for closer though I am going to recap our story the way I saw it…_

_Aqualad… Garth_

What?!

As if on cue, Aqualad walks through my door, "Is everything okay? I heard crashing up here."

I feel a stinging sensation pierce my back, and suddenly I lose control of my body. Against my will, my blood starts to boils. My vision blurs deep red. All of my senses block, except my smell, which is overrun with the smell of blood. I faintly feel myself punch a wall, and then an echo of a familiar voice, "…Damien! What are you wearing?" It quickly fades, no longer plaguing my consumed mind. The stinging in my lower back deepens, and suddenly my brain shuts down, and is consumed in black, if only for a quick second.

When my vision returns I see a man, no longer the kindhearted heroine in the scaled spandex, for he has been replaced by the figure that hurt my Raven, and ruined my life. Robin. He smirks, and bellows, "Come on, little man, too afraid to face your worst nightmares?" The walls waver, and the dressers and bed shrink and grow out of proportion. Robin's small spandex form molds into the body of the masked nightmare, Slade, who has plagued my thoughts. Once again, my body is consumed by anger.

I pull out my long staff, and lunge.

**Here's the update for the week. Read and Review**


	13. Romeo, Romeo

_Romeo, Romeo, where art thou, Romeo?_

I twist against the bindings tied securely around my wrists, neck, and legs. I lay on a white bed staring at the melting, tye-dye walls, which strangely smells of disinfectant. Two small, white and red trolls stand by my bedside, one holding a bloody scalpel and the other holding a blue, wilted daisy. The first troll lowers the blade to my chest, and I shriek and throttle myself against the straps, but as I pull the sheets wrap themselves around me.

I turn my head to see snakes twisting around my arms. I giant, red, and purple boa constrictor slowly slithers towards my face, and then begins to slowly twist itself around my skull. I scream, kicking and throwing my body in every direction, but the snakes hold me to the bed, now. I plead for the trolls to help me, but the Wilted Daisy barks out harsh laughter as the scalpel flickers towards my chest.

I am numb from all of the snakes twisting my body, but before the boa constrictor covers my screaming mouth I howl at the sight of the troll raising my heart out of my body, than throwing it in to a bright, purple trash can that disappears quickly . The trolls start to speak gibberish languages, but before I can decipher the boa constrictor wraps around my ears and nose, so a silence interrupts my muffled yells.

After a long line of conversation, the troll with the scalpel quickly throws it into his red lab coat pocket and pulls out a giant syringe brimming with blue liquid. I sit numb as he clears away some snakes and inserts the needle into my arm.

The boa constrictor covers my eyes.

_Juliet calls for thou…_

_…._

Aqualad sits next to the limp form of the man he thought he knew, still clothed in the Red X suit. When Red X first lunged, he got the advantage of surprise, and planted a blow on the victims left arm, which now sits in a white cast on Aqualad's body. It broke in several places, so his head swims in painkillers, and shock.

During the battle Aqualad had thrown Red X around, who wasn't in his right mind. Every clumsy swing that Damien would make, with his eyes crazed in every direction, he would shout things like, "I'll kill you for what you did to Raven!" and "Why won't you give me a straight answer you son of a bitch!" Eventually, after Garth sounded the silent alarm, Mas e Menos ran into the room and sedated Red X with a syringe full of dark blue liquid

He still couldn't believe that Damien was Red X, the thief and killer who had been hunted by the Titans for years.

Bumblebee had wanted to "Throw his good for nothing carcass in a cell", but Aqualad refused and argued that he had also helped the Titans in many circumstances, like Ding Dong Daddy.

Even if Garth had sided with Red X, he still had his doubts, and was obviously torn inside. He sat silent as Mas e Menos examined the patient, until Damien started screaming and pulling on the restraints. Mas e Menos were zipping about, and chattering panicked. They shouted at him with incoherent Spanish, but Garth sat still, staring at Damien, who twisted and screamed.  
Mas e Menos quickly got to work, tearing off his spandex, and wiping him with cool wash clothes to calm him down. They did this until Damien began pleading for help, they whispered quick things to each other, thinking he was calming down, but his heart rate skyrocketed to the point of exertion, and he thrashed so hard that he broke the restraint holding his right arm. Mas held his arm down, as Menos swiftly retrieved another syringe full of blue liquid, and inserted it into his arm.

Damien's screams died to whimpers, and then he fell asleep. They continued their examination as if nothing had happened, and Aqualad sat limp as before.

After Mas e Menos had left, Garth sat by Damien, or Red X for two night and days, slowly waiting for some answers.

…

I am awake, but afraid to open my eyes. The walls might be melting, and my heart beating inside of the purple trash can. The snakes no longer rom my body, but I feel strangely cold, a breeze passing through my suit.

Reluctantly, I slit open one of my eyes, followed by the other. The walls are not melting, and with my strangely missing suit, I feel no scar on my chest. My body is still restrained, but when I pull on my left I find a mediocre job with a clumsy knot, which I quickly overcome, and soon am freeing myself from every strap on my body.

I sit, and look straight in the face of Aqualad, and his dead stare makes me prefer being eaten by the snakes. Before I can run, he says, "Guards are planted by the door, and outside the window, so I wouldn't make a move in your condition." He rests his face on his hands dully, and I know that he is bluffing, but I sit still anyway.

I slowly turn my body to face him on the bed, and thankfully my pants are still on. I scratch at a scab on my arm. "Why am I not in a jail cell?"

"Because I requested you not be." His cold stare tells me that I should not take his kindness for granted.

We sit in silence, until he pops a heated question.

"Why do you have the tapes?"

Though this question startles me, I nonchalantly flick at my scab. "Maybe I stole them."

"Impossible, the person that follows us would have released the tape."

I look at him. That was quite an observation, and I had never thought of that. Maybe the person following me had carefully laid the tape, but no, it was there for too long. Someone had to have known I would be there.

"I received them in the mail, okay?" I can't meet his stare.

"Why did you receive them? What did you do to Raven?" His voice raises slightly.

I'm fed up with this questionnaire. "Why should I tell you?"

He stands up, furious, "Because I loved her!" He grabs me by my shoulder, and I am actually afraid of the fire in his eyes, even with his dysfunctional arm. He pulls his broken elbow up, ready to start a fight again. He holds me there for a minute, scanning my strategic blank face. He slowly sits down, and puts his head in his hand. "Because I should have protected her."

I continue to sit still, waiting for another reaction, but all I see is a grown man, crying over his lost love. I can't take it.  
"I was her best friend."

He looks up at me, and a little fire lights in his eyes, but quickly extinguishes when he sees that I am telling the truth. He puts his head in his hand, again. "Did you love her?"

He silently waits for my answer, and lifts his head again when I do not. Of course I loved her. She was Raven. My Raven, who read horror stories and fought super-villains, but when you walked with her in the dark of the streets, she curled against you're arm for protection. My Raven, who loved the darkness, but just for you, would walk into the bright sunlight of day. My Raven, who was the daughter of a demon, but was the beautiful, most wonderful angel that cared for every living creature. So many examples run through my head, but all I can answer is a simple, "Yes."

We sit in silence for a time, but he slowly nods his head, stands, and sidles out the door.

The door closes, but I can't make myself move. All I can think about is Raven. So I slowly lay back down, take the Walkman off of the side table of the bed, and hit play.


	14. The Snake and the Seaman

_Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo?_

A chill crawls up my spine.

_Off to slay the snake that hath harmed the fair maiden. *scoff* Fair, right? Wrong. The snake had taken the maiden's innocence, so we might as well label her a slut, huh, Bumblebee?_

Bumblebee did what? I stare at the creamy door, and visualize Bumblebee telling a girl off for being raped. Even I can't see that.

_The snake held the maiden-slut in his dark castle, beating her every second he could get her away from the other villagers. The villagers saw nothing strange, for they only knew of the snake as another trustworthy man, but his venom lay deep in his soul._

I take it that the dark castle is Titans East Tower, and the Titans are the villagers. _But is Raven talking about Speedy or Robin?_

_The villagers saw the maiden-slut as an outcast, and not cared if she had seemed forlorn, because no one ever cares for an outcast; a freak._

_One day, the maiden-slut broke away from the clutches of the snake, and sought help in the caring hands of the seaman, who saw the slut in a different light. He watched her from afar, and looked through the pained mask to see a troubled maiden, pleading for help behind the shadow of the snake. And so she sought refuge behind his fury._

This sounds like a fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers, before it could be changed to the happy Disney version for little kids. That thought makes me feel sick. Those tales never end with a happy ending, but rather a sick, twisted resolution.

_The seaman confronted the snake, calling him on his lies and his mask. The snake denied everything, claiming to be a simple man with simple interests. The villagers sided with the snake, because "any side with the slut is the wrong side." Guess which villager said that._

_Naturally, the slut fell back in the snakes clutches, and the beatings became worse and less secretive. The maiden wore a cloak that covered most of the cuts and bruises, but the seaman could see the damage in her eyes, which still plead to be saved._

_The seaman confronted the snake once again, and this time, there was not a jury. The snakes mask fell, and from there he became a dragon. The seaman and the dragon fought, the seaman with his pure ocean, and the dragon with his venomous strikes, until the dragon was forced to draw power from the villagers, who stopped the fight and contained the snake and the seaman. The slut, however, was nowhere to be seen. She had fled during the battle, her fear overwhelming her body and controlling everything. She would have been back in the claws of the snake if she had stayed._

_And that, my sea loving Romeo, is why was forced to leave the tower. My pathetic fear had gotten the better of me, so know this. You are not to blame, Garth, I am._

_The End._

The tape clicks, so I pull it out and rest it on the dresser. I quickly change into my Red X uniform, and scribble a note on the pad of paper resting in one of the dresser drawers. I back the tapes into my suit, and jump from the window, when I pass Garth's window I glue the note with a cohesive shuriken. Hopefully, no one enters his room before he sees it.

….

Damien isn't in the medical bay. Garth is not surprised, but he had hoped Damien wouldn't flee, because Titan's East would have to hunt him down. Garth lets a sigh escape his lips. Slowly, Garth ignores the flurry of Titans running throughout the tower and strolls to his room. His headache can't handle the busy-ness and confusion.

He flops onto his bed, and almost ignores the obvious blob of red goop on hi window, because fish flop themselves against the window whenever he feels forlorn, as if they try to enter and heal his pain, but the fish hardly ever splatter their guts against the window, so he gets up to investigate. Underneath the goop there is a small sheet of paper. It reads:

_Dear Garth, _

_I am sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, but I have unfinished business with Robin. Please keep an eye on Silkie. He is probably still in the guest's room._

_Also, watch Speedy. I don't trust him any further than I can throw him, and you shouldn't either. Do it for Raven._

_Sincerely, Damien_

_P.S. Don't take everything on the tapes so seriously. I don't think everything on them is completely true._

Garth ponders the last bit. What does Damien mean, 'the tapes aren't true.' Garth's headache increases, and he flops back onto his sheets, preparing for a long night of shadowing Speedy, and maybe going to the market to pick up some pet food.

**Read and Review**


	15. Strange Happenings

My feet dangle off of the roof of the tallest building in Jump City. The night-wing ruffles my hair, and I play with my mask in my hands, asking it questions I can't see the answers to.

_Retracing my steps usually works, but I can't find any trace that Robin had been following me. There weren't even any finger prints on the Walkman, or glove prints, for that matter. No kind of mark on it to signify it had been moved into the desk drawer. It's almost as if it rose up and levitated into it._

_I went back to the abandoned Titans Tower, but nothing was abnormal. I even went back to the super market, where I was attacked, and still nothing. Damn bastard, why the hell is he dragging me along like this?_

_He wanted me to know he was following me. He wouldn't have left the Walkman if he didn't want me to know, but I don't understand why. Is there something I'm missing? The tapes do seem a bit off, but what does that mean? Better yet, why did I get the tapes? What did I do to Raven? Support her? Love her? We fought at times, but they never meant anything. God, I'm confused._

Silkie briefly crosses my mind. Hopefully he is happy living with Garth; the good guy; the Romeo. _Why is he the Romeo of this fairy tale? What does that make me?_

The stars are beautiful tonight. The way they glean off of the tiny cars as they pass below is mesmerizing. I rest my head in my hands and stare at them for a time, wishing I was as free as they were.

I pull the Walkman from my suit, and brush my hand along its smooth, gray surface. Just like Raven to use something so cliché. She always was a classic.

I insert the next tape, and put the ear buds in my ears, but I set the Walkman down and lay back, gazing at the bright stars, listening to the silence.

* * *

Silkie enjoys his kibbles as Aqualad slips on a cloaking wristband that he had confiscated from Red X's suit when he was unconscious. The piece of technology seemed too important to leave with the criminal, and he decided to make Red X's thievery a bit more challenging. Its sleek black surface equipped with one small button shaped as an 'X'. Garth tests the button, and when he walks to his mirror there is nothing looking back at him. _Truly amazing. Did Damien really build this?_

With one final check at his reflection, Garth slips out of his bedroom and walks to Speedy's, but before he can quietly break in, Speedy's door 'swishes' open, and its attendant strides out. Garth presses himself to the wall, but sheepishly remembers that he is invisible, and hurriedly follows.

* * *

Speedy checks behind himself, and continues to an abandoned warehouse at the corner of the street. Garth follows at a safe distance, across the road, careful not to step on any pieces of broken glass or snapping any twigs, like in the movies. _What is Speedy doing here? _ Garth always found Speedy a suspicious character, but this seems strange. _Though, after what he did to Raven. _Garth blood began to boil.

Speedy slipped into the warehouse with a rusty creak of the door, but before Garth could slip in un-noticed, the door slammed shut. _Damn it!_ Garth slipped around the building to find another entrance, but they were all locked and barricaded.

As he made his way around the building a second time, he found a fire escape, and climbed up the ladder to the roof. The path led to a hatch on the roof, which opened with a silenced click.

Garth slipped into the building, quietly landing onto a metal catwalk that hung high above the floor of the giant warehouse. Strangely, nothing but dust sat on the bottom floor, and as Garth tip-toed on the metal walk, he could not find Speedy anywhere.

Garth leaped from the metal catwalk, lading with a soft 'thud' and a pillow of dust. He found footprints in the powder. He raised his head and looked around. They led to closet at the far end of the warehouse. He slowly crept to the door, and opened it with a creak. He flinched at the obnoxious sound. He could only hope that no one had heard it.

The closet was not a closet, but a steep stairwell, that Garth could not see the end of. As he walked down the stony decline, he barely made out strange gargoyle-like décor along the walls. The air became icy as he descended further, but still found not limit to the stone flight.

The bracelet suddenly started beeping, which rang down the endless stairs. Garth quickly turned it off, becoming slightly visible as a shadow in the blackness. The beeping echoed, even after the beeping finished. Whoever was down there had definitely heard that, yet Garth continued to descend, defiant of the pending doom that awaited him at the bottom.

Garth reached the end of the long flight, stubbing his foot when the next step he had expected did not arrive. With a small cuss, he slunk around the corner into an obscure room.

He crept to the middle of the room, and hit his foot against a statue of some sort. The room flashed with the light of candles, which temporarily blinded him. When his bearings returned, he was struck with a strange sight.

A giant stone hand rested in the center of the giant chamber, held by a set of stairs that led to the top. A form was crumbled in the middle of its palm, Garth normally would have run to help, but his feet were glued to the ground.

Garth was surrounded by statues mounted high on confines of the chamber. They held the candles, and looked exactly like…

Raven.

A figure slipped up behind the frozen Garth and socked him in the back of the skull. Garth crumbled to the floor. The figure jauntily thought to himself, _Now what to do?_

* * *

The dark voice thundered throughout the brimstone lair. The figure stood with his arms crossed behind his back, stoic, and staring into the wicked eyes of the most powerful iniquity in the universe.

Trigon.

And yet his mask barely twitched_. _Speedy had made a deal with the devil.

_ Why did you let this insolent underling follow you to the portal?_

Speedy began to sweat in fear, but remained apathetic and replied "He was too curious for his own good, I will take care of him."

_No, he must have had some motive to follow your worthless soul. Keep him alive, barely. He may come of use in the near future._

"Yes, my lord." Speedy shakily kneeled and bowed his head, appearing frightened, but his blood boiled with indignation. This little rat had come down here and ruined his plans, and now he is forced to let him live.

As Speedy stared at the red hot brimstone at his feet, he plotted to make Aqualad's life a living Hell. He grinned maliciously.

He would make this fun. "Your wish is my command."


	16. Goth Boy

After about an hour of complete silence, I hesitantly press my index finger on the play button.

_I've heard that only the truly desperate are one' that are susceptible to needs and feelings. My home, Azarath, forced it into my small skull that it was wrong to feel emotion. I'm not quite sure whether that teaching was practiced by the entirety of my home world or just by me, the daughter of the demon. The single being, who if ever felt something beyond a murmur, would lose control, and unleash a monster that would conquer and destroy the entire universe. If any of you were wondering, that's why I never really came out of mind much, metaphorically speaking._

"You felt many things, Raven, and I felt it too. Don't deny it. We laughed, and cried, and danced, and fought." I console myself in saying my thoughts out loud. "Are you telling me you never felt anything through that?" I only wish she could hear me.

_So why, do you ask, would I feel enough of this so called 'emotion' to finally let go and jump into the deep abyss of suicide? Why, for you more religious types, would I condemn myself to 'Hell' for things I was never supposed to feel in the first place, the scripture which they washed deep into my mind?_

"It's almost as if you read my mind." My synthetic voice chills my spine, an unwelcome feeling at the moment.

_Well, I was never perfect. I wasn't the rock that all of you thought me to be. The one and only that wouldn't be harmed by your cruel words and names and actions. Raven wasn't as solid as you thought, and with every word you said, and every joint you hit, that rock slowly chipped and crumbled, until all that was left was an ice cold, completely dense pile of grey ash. _

I slip off my mask, my voice changing as I speak my mind, "If you had only told me, Raven. I could have helped. I could have stopped the harsh words Why didn't you let me in?"

_Speaking of ash, do you know what the only the truly desperate need? To keep them moving, to hold their ever spiraling world in place, if only by a minute, thinning piece of twine._

_Drugs._

"Raven, you can't. You aren't that kind of person. You're independent. You're strong. You're unshakable, unconquerable, insurmountable… You are Raven. You don't need some pathetic substance to control your beautiful, creative, unprecedented thoughts. I… I can't believe I didn't notice." This conversation with the tape is very therapeutic, even if it can't return my queries. I only wish…

_That's right. Heroin, cocaine, marijuana, PCP's, I snorted, injected, and swallowed my way through ever thing. In fact, I couldn't have done it if not for my precious drug buddy, Jinx._

"Jinx? I thought she became one of the goody-goody's," quizzically, my thoughts revert on themselves.

_Good old Jinx. When I moved back into the Titan's West Tower, you were there, and, almost magically, you were the only one who noticed how down I was. How I needed a helping hand, a boost out of the metaphorical pit or crevice._

"Raven, no…"

_It makes me hollow inside to say this, but to be honest, I actually enjoyed my time in the tower basement, or at the drug drop off, the alley between the Jump City Supermarket and the video-game arcade. I hadn't felt so relieved in months, years maybe. They were probably the first times I was able to let go, and for that, I thank you, Jinx._

"God dammit, Raven. Why did you turn to that drug-hussy. I was there the entire time, waiting at our little bench in the park. The place where we had first met. The point where we sat, every week, every date. All of the times we found each other at the frayed, wooden antique, and you still can't get it through your thick skull that I've been here the entire time." I actually stand, shouting to the stars my grief and misfortunes. I want them to absorb my pain to burn it in their fiery cores, until it is nothing but a mere whisper of memories. I want it to leave me alone.

_Actually, I can't give all of the credit to little Jinx-y_

"…hmm…"

_The drug lord, who gave us everything we needed to get through the hard days of saving the world, Goth Boy, you deserve credit too._

"What?" I pause the tape. Goth Boy; the alias I used at the Game Hub, where I force myself to work to make an honest living. The place where Raven said would provide a decent lifestyle, and except high education in technology repair, but would demand no scholarship education or bachelor's degree in engineering. Amazingly, the little corner shop gave its workers around thirty-five thousand a year, which was more than enough to pay for my tiny, hole-in-the-ground apartment that I had rented for years. Man, she whipped me like a bowl of cream. I would have done anything for her. I had actually stopped pulling jobs and targets in that brief period when Raven and I became real friends.

_"Come on, Damien, you can get by in here. Raven and I stand on the sidewalk in front of the colorful Game Hub, bustling with cheerful activity. I glanced at the storefront sign, which had a big flashing Pac-man chasing a frightened, blue ghost._

_"Seems a little cheesy, Sunshine." Raven's eyes flashed at the name, which would have chilled most people, but I chuckled. A smile wormed its way onto her vanilla features. Instead of her cape and uniform, she was clad in a black, faded jacket, purple, torn jeans and black converses. Her purple hair reflected the sunshine of the warm day. She was truly beautiful in that moment. Of course, I could never tell her that._

_She pouted and crossed he arms, attenpting to conceal her widening grin, "This place can get you out of the crime rut you've logged yourself in. One day, that business is going to bite you in the ass and get you dead." The birdies fluttering carelessly through the sky seemed to chirp in agreement._

_Flicking a piece of flint from my Paramore T-shirt, I glimpse from her violet eyes back to the yellow blob flashing in my face. I smirk at her. "I'm going to need a bit more convincing…"_

_"Ice cream. My treat."_

_"Deal"_

Needing to hear it again, I rewind the Walkman a few seconds.

_…alley between the Jump City Supermarket and the video-game arcade-_

"The hell?" I hurriedly re-materialize myself by the alley way between the Jump City Supermarket and the Game Hub, which is hardly big enough for me to fit my shoe between. "How could any drug transactions been conucted in this little crack. I rewind the tape once again.

_…alley between the Jump City Supermarket and the video-game arcade-_

"Something on these tapes is definitely off."


	17. Don't Jinx It

_Actually, Jinx, I thank you for pulling me out of the gutter. After I ran away from those retched Titans, you gave me a second chance. In fact, I didn't run by choice. Driven out, by the ones I thought had my back. Whatever, it sure as hell doesn't matter anymore._

The walls don't shift under my touch. How did 'Goth Boy' run a drug operation without my notice. I worked in this building every day from 9 to 5. Occasionally, I even would stand outside and twirl the advertisement sign, which may not have flashed like the storefront, but the small Pac-man still chased the tiny ghost. Its yellow tint bright and smooth. Not that we didn't have enough customers, the tiny shop crowded full-time, even on school days. In fact, though I talked to everyone and learned their names, there always seemed to be a new person drooling on the buttons of a classic, like Galactica.

_Of all the things that we did together, or smoked, injected, ingested, and all the things we said, there's one thing I remember clearly. _

_It was before I lit my first joint, or snorted a fistful of cocaine a day…_

How did she not overdose?

_You caught me as I was walking down the sidewalk in Steel, my hoodie torn and my heavy sweat pants tattered, and a sack of meager possessions held close to my chest. It's amazing how many guys had tried to… do things when you pass by them in a dark alley, and how they screamed like tiny girls when their kneecaps shattered under a little strain._

_I wasn't wearing my uniform cape and leotard, so how did you spot me. None of the other boys or civilians had recognized the broken-hero that begged at their feet for measly change, or stopped when she curled around a trashcan in a dark alley, clutching at the little warmth that was held between the steel and her drained form. How did you know it was me?_

_When you stopped in front of me, at first I mumbled an apology and skittered out of your way. Still, you grabbed my shoulder and tilted my head to look into your dazzling pink eyes. You weren't clothed in your uniform either. A billowing pink jacket and tight purple jeans covered your ivory skin, your hair bundled in a purple ribbon at your shoulders. A very pretty ensemble, especially when you stood next to my homeless attire. _

_Your teeth glistened as you flashed your quirky grin and wrapped your arm around my shoulder, "Raven, long time no see. You look like you've been thrown into the shredder." Your cheerful tone singed my ears, who hadn't heard any words relatively kind in months._

The sign twirling would gather a crowd. Many a person would clutter on that little sidewalk, mostly people who had nothing better to do and had zits conquering their flabby skin, but none the less.

They would give me requests on what tricks I would do, or learn for the next time they came. They would have me flip off the walls, do cartwheels, or even break dance. Once, they even had me run out into the busy intersection and backflip onto a moving car. It was almost as if I were one of those cart monkeys that vendors would carry around, for extra tips. Oh, and how the tips would roll in. I would make at least fifty dollars in tips each day. I was a real hit.

_I told her she was mistaken. I was nothing but a lowly hobo, and she shouldn't waste her precious time being seen with me. But she didn't let go. She dragged me into a coffee shop by the thrift shop, Monet's Garden Café and Coffeehouse. We sat down in the booth by the window; where I could see all the civilians who looked down on me pass by Monet's, completely unaware that I'm not lying in the gutter now._

Every now and then, Raven would stop by to watch me dance with the sign. It would always make her laugh. "I guess your acrobatics are useful for something." Then I would throw the sign at her, narrowly missing every time, and she would break down into a fit of giggles. She knew I would never actually hit her.

_She ordered us hot chocolate, and I politely declined. She told me to at least hold it in my hands for warmth. I did as told. And we just sat there._

After my shift was over, Raven and I would go to Monet's. She had an eerie connection with that place. She would order the herbal tea, while I would order a coffee. Hairy Chest Blend. Highly caffeinated. We would chatter and giggle like school girls, or hyenas. I've heard it both ways. I haven't been there since she passed.

_We sat in silence for so long, you started to twitch. You obviously had questions, but you were trying to respect my personal space for a time. You didn't last very long. You burst, "Truth or Dare?"_

_Now everyone knows, if someone wants to play 'Truth or Dare' they want to know something about you. It's the game of secrets. I was never one to give away mine for nothing. "Dare."_

_She jumped on the vinyl seats, and devilishly gazed around the room. After a few mere seconds, she concluded her plotting. She jolted her thumb in the bar tender's direction. "Go up to that guy and play under your shirt."_

Lenny, the bartender that had been previously 'laid off', would have definitely loved that. He always eyed our table. He was lanky, with stubble on his chin, and could never land a date, to awkward. He almost reminded me of a dirty Shaggy Rogers, from Scooby Doo. Raven loved that show, too.

_I was shocked, of course I wasn't going to do that. Lenny's disgusting. The grease stains on his apron said it all. He really didn't fit in with the quaint atmosphere of Monet's. It's truly a wonder that someone hasn't sent the health department to investigate the unnatural odor coming from his armpits._

'And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those kids and their pesky dog, too.' Once, we stayed up into the wee hours in the morning watching the old and new versions of ole' Scooby. It's to bad that the newer 'Mystery Incorporated' isn't like the other Scooby Doo's. Raven's favorite was Scrappy. I never understood why, but I respected her priorities. I prefer Velma.

_Eventually, I think he got fired for putting rat meat in one of the customer's sandwiches. But he's not important, Jinx is what matters now._

_I told her there was no way I was doing that, and she pouted her lips, but backed off. "Then I dare you to tell the truth." I was really sick of this little game now, but she was persistent, so eventually I gave her what she wanted. It was like a game show questionnaire. She asked why I had 'moved out' of the Titan's Towers, what I plan to do, if I had any friends to rely on, what my favorite colors was… _

_I answered with little quips and sarcastic remarks, wondering if this girl ever stopped chattering._

_Finally, she asked if I needed a place to stay, and I told her 'Hell no'. There was no way I was going to listen to that hyena all day._

_Again, she was persistent, and I fell through. She quickly slapped some bills on the table and dragged me from the shop. One thing I hadn't realized is where she was taking me to live._

_Titans Tower._


	18. Gateway

I don't even have to think about it.

As I materialize in the den of Titan's Tower, I pause and analyze what I just heard. _Why had Raven never mentioned Jinx before? _

I stroll down the halls, the toes of my boots scuffing the blue carpet, penetrating the silence with a 'sshh' 'sshh' sound. The walls echo as I drum my knuckles against the cool, dusty surface. Who cleaned this place? Someone must have, because whenever I snuck in at night it was always immaculate.

Before you get any ideas, when I broke in to the tower it was always for a sleepover in Raven's room. She would set up Cyborg's laptop, and we created a late-night movie theatre. We would take turns choosing the movies. I would always choose a comedy, and she a horror flick, though sometimes we would find ourselves watching a classic, like Where the Red Ferns Grow.

_"Why 'Where the Red Ferns Grow'?" curled up on my blue bean bag on the floor of Raven's eerily decorated room, I picked at my plaid green pajamas pants. My shirt was off, show casing my fabulous abs, but Raven's eyes were on the screen._

_"Because." Tears clouded her gaze, and her voice cracked. Her arms were wrapped around her knees as she watched the light fade from the young pup's eyes, the other whining in fear. A sob wracked her petite form. Not frail, petite._

_I scooted my blue bag over to her purple one, and pulled her into my arms. "Whoa, whoa. Don't cry…" She pressed her cheek into shoulder, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her thin black hoodie. She also wore green-plaid pajama pants, a tradition we upheld. "I'm not crying. You're seeing things." _

_I laugh, "Yah, like the snot bubbling out your nose." She scowled, and slapped my shoulder. "You're a delusional asshole," but she still wipes her sleeve under her nose._

_"I'm joking, I'm joking," holding my arms up in surrender. She smacks me once more, and lays her head in my lap, misty eyes turning back to the movie. I lean back in my bag and twiddle with her soft hair, my mind eluding the television. _

With a sigh, the plugs are in my ears and the tape starts once again.

_ I know I promised I wasn't coming back, but when Jinx dragged me threw the giant doors of the garage, exhaustion overwhelmed me. I was at the beginning. I had friends, a bed to sleep in, and food to eat… I wasn't worthless anymore. It felt wonderful, like a high that everyone should experience._

One word comes to mind: Acceptance.

_Of course, Jinx knew all about highs, didn't she? I know I haven't mentioned this, but her pink eyes were extremely blood shot when she found me on the side of the road. I hadn't really paid much mind, but later I wished I had noticed it, and declined her offers. Run away from the addiction before it could control me. But friendship is a high, and everyone craves a good feeling. _

Raven's room is the same as I left it, statues watching my every move, bed spread perfect, bean bags resting in the corner. Not a scratch had been made.

_It was kind of strange, besides Jinx, ever one in the tower ignored me. The shoulder was so cold, that I was afraid to walk through the halls of my former home. My friends were gone, replace by cold, hard shells that had been sucked dry of kindness. Is it any wonder I completely turned to Jinx, trusting her every word and whim._

Except for one thing.

_I'm not even quite sure what I took, I just took the drugs she gave me, and did whatever she told me to do to get them in my system. It was pretty draining. I won't even mention the money I had to put in._

A note on the mirror.

_I can't really talk any more. Check the next tape for more, not that you have a choice._

I rip the ear buds from my drums, having enough of the draining emotions. I pull the delicate paper from the mirror, and scan my eyes over the ruddy handwriting.

_'The True Master'_

* * *

The darkness overwhelms Garth's vision. His bruised and bloodied arms are shackled to the floor, barely giving him enough room to lick my unnaturally-twisted elbow. His suit lay in tatters, and the voices are muttering again. They never stop plotting. His head pounds as he tries to make out what they are saying. He can only make out one word.

Robin


	19. The True Master

My suit beeps, warning me that the zynothium is depleting. No shock, of course. This stuff runs out faster than an iPhone's battery charge. I just wish it was as cheap. I have zapped myself around quiet a lot in the past few hours; I guess my suit has earned its keep. It's surprising it has gotten me this far, truthfully.

I allow myself one last transport towards my destination, and settle to start walking. My teleportation device can only launch me so far, especially with its lowering levels of fuel. It does give me about an extra half of a mile, however, and for that, I am thankful.

Asia is a long place away, and scrambling my molecular structure continuously has turned my stomach and brain to mush. I sit myself down to rest with a statue of a humbled man, I presume the 'True Master'. If only the note could have been vaguer; I was lucky that Rave had told me about Robin's adventure, even though she really emphasized the part where she wore his clothes and traipsed around. We went a little nutty after that.

_I flipped out my blue cape, and posed, thrusting my elbow from my head and puckering my lips, opposite hand on hip as I show-cased my blue, too-tight-for-comfort-because-its-a-girls-outfit leotard. Raven, clad in my baggy Red X tights, giggled, her tinged voice muffled through my voice scrambler. I thought Raven's outfit would be bigger, especially around the chest-al area. Oh well. I feel the fabric tear around my bicep._

_She choked, "Let me help you with that." Her raised hand flashing with dark magic and I feel the fabric stretch, and fit more comfortably around my muscled physique. I flex my arms, and smile my award-winning grin. "How do I look?" I use my manliest voice._

_She breaks down into another fit of laughter. "Feminine." Her hand lit with black magic again, and the hood pulled over my eyes. Next thing I knew, there was a gooey red X sucking on my mouth. "Mph!"_

_"Oh, come on! You glued my mouth shut plenty of times over the years. This is revenge." I pulled the hood off of my head, and gave her my most brutal glare. The only thing it did was tickle her insides, because she fell to her knees and covered her gasping mask. I went a little further._

_I struck my sexiest pose: sticking my butt in the air and blowing a kiss from sewn lips. Holding for a tick, I rolled to the ground, throwing my flowing gown behind my back and laying like one of those French girls in the paintings._

_Raven clutched at her sides, trying so hard to prevent them from splitting, she rolled onto her back, gasping for breath, my tattered cape wrapped around her struggling form. I leaped on top of her, tickling her. Not many would guess, but Raven is super ticklish in her sides. She squealed and thrashed against my dancing finger-tips, but I clamp her tight between my legs. Whacking me with her fists, her convulsions of laughter prevent her from causing any damage to my lower abs. "Uncle! Uncle!"_

_I stop, and her frantic seizures of giggles exhaust soon after. We sit there, her heaving form still under my stagnant one. She doesn't protest, but regains her breath, tearing off the mask to increase the air flow. I gaze into her deep purple pools, capable of so many colors, drinking in the luscious shade. _

_Not long enough later, I stand and pull her to her feet alongside me, our eyes still locked, soggy mud on piercing violet. _

_Without warning, her eyes flash a dangerous red, her gloved hand whipping up to my face and tipping the X from my swollen lips. A ringing and my ears and a violent stinging in my flaking lips sear, blocking out the spinning world. Faintly, I hear a "…asshole…" and get a glimmer of a dark suit stalking off. My knees collapse and I caress my searing skin. "Uhhhhhh…" _

I always wondered why that suit wasn't stretchy; the elastic fabric was perfectly suited for the job. I think Raven just wanted to see my clothes explode from me.

She threw her suit away the second she got it back, but I kept mine. Those cartoons, where the hero has an entire closet just for their millions of uniforms; they aren't true. I have to wash and dry clean my suit after every hit, and I only have two. Plus, it smelled like Raven. Still does, actually, back in my crumby apartment closet, where no one will ever touch it, and its safe. If someone ever touched it-

"Excuse me," I jolt as a frail, elderly woman appears in front of me, "Would you like a beet; they're in season." A basket of purple, wrinkly beets obscures my vision, and I take it from the kind woman, she looks as if she were struggling to stand straight, which she wasn't accomplishing. She hunches over, holding her poor back with both hands, her skin hanging in wrinkles over her pained face.

I mumble a quick "No thank you," and think what hit me as strange about this wrinkled woman. Raven had mentioned that the 'True Master' was an old prune, but she couldn't have possibly been this ancient and disabled. I meet her hollow, gray eyes, "Are you the True Master?"

She laughed, "Someone usually climbs the mountain to figure that out; you are quick, masked one." Surprised, I lurch to my feet and whip off my mask, bowing to the respected woman. "I am honored." She chuckles again, "Alas, I am no more the great master, my poor back cannot handle the mountain anymore, and I am forced to stay down here and pick beats while he installs an elevator." She gazes dreamily up the looming mountain side, while I furrow my brow. "He who?"

"He me." I spin around, and drop down on my haunches, ready for a fight. A well-built man, in a white martial arts scrubs, a black belt tied around his waist. He has changed so much, but the mask lies firmly in place over his eyes. "You left me that note." I can't believe my eyes. Would he attack me in the Red X suit? Does he know that I am out of zynothium, and can I beat him without it? I don't have time to answer, for he waves me towards the dojo next to the beet farm. I follow Robin into the tiny building, completely unaware of what to come.

* * *

**Pizzachic: Take you for taking the time to give me your question, but I think you will find that most have been answered in the text, and I will make sure to answer the others in the future.**

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**Evilsangel: Thank you for keeping me monitored on how the story makes you feel, and again, I'm sry 4 te seplling erors. ;)**

**And for the others that have reviewed my story, each and every one are valued deep in my heart, not to sound cheesy.**

**Keep reading and reviewing and also make sure to enjoy!**


	20. Interrogations and Memories

The tiny bonzai tree at the center of the table caught my attention; neatly trimmed. Its prestige, green leafs dewy in the artificial light. I had not thought that Robin would have had the patience to nurture such a delicate form of life. He's just full of surprises, like murdering my little bird, Raven.

It had grown dark in the tiny dojo, Robin insisting that he make me a pot of herbal tea. I almost dropped him right there, him flattering with my dead bird's favorite tea, or food rather, but I held my tongue and accepted the invitation; no matter how much the steaming liquid curdled my stomach. I needed information from this scum.

"Why did you leave the note on her mirror?" The now luke-warm tea, sat in my icy hands, untouched. Raven made exquisite tea, better than this mucus in all ways.

"I needed to talk to you." His hands clamped into fists, resting on the table; his back straight and face stoic. _He's treating this like an interrogation, but the question is: who's the interrogator?_

"Why."

"I needed to know how you are connected to her," leaning forward, he almost crushes the poor tree with his burly arms; masked eyes burning ice into my soul.

"You already know." I remain lying against the back of the wooden chair, arms crossed on my chest, feet propped under the table, tilting my chair back slightly. A rebellious position, keeping me completely in control.

"I really don't, Red X." For the first time in ages, it dawns upon me that my mask is still firmly in place, my identity hidden with it.

"You were there."

"Red X, so help me, if you did anything to hurt her-"

"I would never hurt her."

"You're a criminal. You would do anything to get a quick buck. If you don't tell me what you did to her than I will come over there and make you…" His voice continued to rise, He propped himself on his hands, so he now towers over me, even if he isn't much bigger.  
"I. Didn't. Do. Anything." Pronunciation is quite important in situations with a raving lunatic.

"Then why are you listening to the tapes?"

"I never hurt her."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO RAVEN TO DESERVE THE TAPES?" First time either of us has said her name. It stings.

Robin leaned in so close that I could smell his breath, and frankly, it stunk. He didn't smell too nice either, like he hadn't showered in days. In fact, now that I'm actually looking at him, he has deep bags under his hidden eyes, so he probably hasn't slept in days, either.

I don't know if it was Raven's name, or being sick of all of the questions, or even just my jet lag from the long journey, but I was tired. So tired, that nothing seemed to matter anymore. So tired, that all I wanted to do was curl up on my bean bag and watch classics with Raven, but that wasn't going to happen, ever again.

Sighing I pulled off my mask, sat straight up and met Robin's stare. His expression faltered, so drastically that the tension in the room tingled with anticipation. The oxygen in the tiny room seemed to liquefy, and even the miniscule bonzai tree was affected, its green leafs wilting slightly.

"Do you remember now?" It was my turn to lean forward, "Dick."

It looked as if Robin's heart was about to stop. Even without his eyes, every last bit of shock was expressed with his posture, his face, and his sweating hands. "Damien."

_"Oh, could you believe those graphics. How did they pay for those costumes? That series really just took off." Raven and I had just finished watching the fourth series of Doctor Who, and were now discussing the episode where the Daleks had returned to destroy the universe, creating a weapon out of the planets themselves, Earth included._

_"That show is huge, now. They probably have hundreds of producers." Clad in our matching pajama pants and slippers, we shuffled down the hallway. It was strange how Raven had gotten so addicted to the show, when she usually prefers to read a book, than loose her brain to television. I guess I changed that in her._

_"It was about time that they brought Rose back, too. I mean seriously, they don't show enough of her. That Billie Piper plays her perfectly." Did I mention that Raven was completely obsessed with Rose Tyler? Also strange, considering…_

I wonder if I should have looked into that more.

_"You are way too fascinated with that blonde."_

_"It's not a fascination. It's more of a…" Searching for the right word, Raven stumbles. Usually, Raven has no trouble with words. Maybe the tube is turning her brain to mush._

_"An obsession." _

_"No! Why does it matter to you? I have my reasons."_

_Ignoring the question, I probe further, "Like what?"_

_"Well, for starters, in beginning of that episode, she walked away from an explosion with a giant gun in her hands. Totally badass."_

_"I could totally do that, but you don't call me badass."_

_"Oh, you so could not…"_

_We continue our quibbling as we head toward the foyer. Completely consumed, I don't realize where I am walking until I stroll right into Robin, almost toppling us both, making him drop his soda. Before he or Raven can even breathe, I swipe my hand down and catch the cup in mid-air, returning it to Robin's hand._

_Robin raised his eyebrow and smirked, "Nice, where did you learn to move like that?"_

_Raven tensed beside me, but I smiled back "Martial arts training."_

_"Oh, cool. Who's you sensei? I'm personal friends with everyone in town." He had me there. Truth was, I picked my moves up off of the streets, for the job, but I could never tell him that. I love a challenge._

_"Actually, I just moved here a couple of years ago from Japan. My sensei was Shi Zu, but he preferred sensei. Really loved the arts; a wise man."_

_"Interesting, do you have a sensei now," tilting his head to the side, he runs his tongue over his teeth, trying to intimidate me. Not gonna happen._

_"Not really, but he sent me off with some basic moves to practice and to alter, and gave me his personal number if I had any questions."_

_"Sounds like a cheap sensei if he just hands out his number to all of his students."_

_"He isn't, he just gave his number to me. I'm not sure if he even uses it any more. He was pretty old, and I say that with no disrespect."_

_We stared at each other for a moment. His masked eyes giving no expression, and my emotions just as hidden. He smirked again, "Well, if you ever need any practice, than feel free to come in and duel."_

_Again, I love a challenge, "I just might take you up on that. My name's Damien, by the way."_

_"Dick." We shook hands, holding eye contact until one of us would back down. Eventually, Raven almost had to cut our hands off with black magic, because neither of us could shy away from the challenge._

And I did. I started dueling with Robin a few times, and then once a week, and not much later I was dueling every time I came to Titans Tower. I would even come over when Raven was gone to fight, though she would be pissy because she loved to watch us squabble like chickens with our heads cut off. In fact, she would arrange tournaments where we would duel in front of the team.

Cyborg would always root for Robin, but Beastboy would alternate sides. He said it was because I was the only one to 'give tofu-dogs a chance.' (I honestly thought they were pretty tasty, once you glugged some relish and ketchup on it, but there was never any mustard. Raven said that was Starfire's fault, because the alien would shove a straw into the bottle and slurp it down in a few gulps. I never believed it. I mean, the girl having such a slim figure. Something about Tamaranean biology.)

Starfire always stood with Robin, whom I respected, but Raven never would pick a side. She knew that we both had too much pride, and that her decision would start a vicious war that would destroy Titans Tower, throwing the world into utter chaos, with no heroes to halt any thug's or criminal's actions, and letting the blissful Earth fall into hellfire ruin, soon to drag the entire universe with it…

So she respected our differences and played the role of the referee, calling when one of us was playing to dirty.

Occasionally, she would get bored while she hovered, legs crossed, on the side lines, and would rest her head in her hands and doze. Whenever I noticed this, I would shout battle cries, flip and twirl, and a variety of other bull headed stunts. I would even blow her kisses, which she never responded too. This usually resulted in me flat on my ass, Robin taking advantage of my fool hardiness. It was worth it to watch Raven laugh. Even if she never verbally chose a side, I'm sure she knew that I was better than bird brain in every way.

Dick and I were great friends. Brothers, even. I was so shocked to hear what Robin did to Raven. So stunned, that it was almost implausible. Hell, it was completely impossible. Why would bird-brain ever want to hurt Raven in that way? Why at all?

He wouldn't. I know that, he knows it, even Raven knew it. I'm sure that the other Titan's, or any villains, or even Trigon, Raven's demonic father from the pits of Hell, knew this fact. So why would it be on the tapes? Why would Raven record a lie and give it to her closest friends and family? It just doesn't make sense.

"I would never hurt Raven, and you know that." I stare Robin straight in the eyes, though his blank mask, daring him tell me I was wrong, to challenge me. To demand my resignation. To beat on me, taking his rage out on me for the disappointment and grief that he was feeling.

His chest rose, and then he let out a defeated sigh and dropped his head to his hands. "Yeah," he muttered.

The air flies from my lungs in a giant 'whoosh', and I tumble back into my wooden chair, tilting it back and jolting forward. We stare at each other for minutes on end, complete silence with no end in fight.

The lamp flickers, and I have an intense migraine, so I am pretty aggravated. My hand automatically combs through my black tussle of hair, and I ask in a very dead-toned voice, "Could we finish this later? I need some sleep." Dick thinks about it for a moment, debating whether or not he should let a convicted criminal stay in his home. He lets out an indifferent grunt and crosses his arms over his chest. "Whatever."

"Great." I totter to my feet, and march off in search of a comfortable bed to crash on, completely devoid of what will happen tomorrow.

**Finally, I update. Camping sucks, and takes away writing time, especially when you camp for a week and a half. It was pretty enjoyable, so no complaints there, but whatever. :P**

**Read and Review J**


	21. Cowardice

"Was there a point to that, Bird Brain?" I grunt, still picking the spines out of my ass from battling that damn monkey. Didn't fair to well with the either, and don't get me started about the snake. I had never realized how insanely impossible it was to defeat someone who hid, completely unknown, among the shadows. I'm usually on the other side of those fights.

"I fought those same battles once, seeking the true master, and not only did it make me a better warrior, but I became a better man, too." _Oh god. Enough with the spiritual mumbo-jumbo, already. _I am sick of all of the goddamn riddles. _Can't I, for once in my life, get a straight fucking answer?_

Did I mention that I now boast a once clean white uniform? Amazingly, Robin and I are the same size. Who would have guessed? Besides the fact that I stole his Red X weaponry and suit and have been wearing them ever since.

A white belt is tied securely around my waist. You know what really grinds my gears? Bird-Brain knows that I am _at the very least _a black belt, and yet he still throws this piece of toilet paper at my feet. I silently continue to fume as Robin escorts me into a small dojo at the peak of the treacherous mountain, which, might I mention, is completely identical to the one at the bottom of the hill! _Goddamn it to hell. _The stream rising from my ears grows a bitter hotter, along with my attitude.

Upon entrance, the wooden building is in no way the same as the other dojo. Everything is cloaked in shadow, newspapers strewn about on the table and floor. A small, old fashioned, box computer is tucked in the corner on an equally cluttered desk, connected to hundreds of wires streaming to god-knows-where. Plastered across the walls, string connects tiny pictures and articles. With closer examination, every little bit of pinned information addresses someone on the tapes, except for one lone slip of paper on the far wall, which is slathered with thick, black, sharpie. Written on it, surrounded by a looping red circle, is '_Goth Boy?', _and a I try to make sense of that, I notice that almost every string in the room is connected to that small, crinkled piece of paper, which is also surrounded by dozens of throwing knifes.

_Looks like someone isn't too happy with me._

"So…" I drawl, about to continue when Robin cuts me off. "I have every possible significant piece of information on every Titan and non-Titan on the recordings." With a swift check, there are multiple little quips on every person I've heard about from those retched tapes, plus the ones I haven't. There are very few strings connecting to the original Titans, like Starfire and Cyborg, but almost all of the strings connect to three of the pictures. Terra, Slade, and Goth Boy. Slade's photo is only one of a cracked mask, which has been slashed through by a thick red marker. Terra's, of the former Titan grinning into the camera and hugging Beastboy, has a big, sloppy question mark traced along the side.

"Why so interested in 'Goth Boy'?" jerking my thumb in the direction of the slip surrounded by kunai. Before I can blink, Robin whips another knife out of his shirt and it punches into the center of the slip of paper.

"Ummm," I mutter in slight surprise, "Never mind." Ignoring me, Robin scowls, "He's the key to the recordings. Everything somehow connects to him, and if I could just unlock his secrets… who and where he is, I could put a stop to all of this."

Cautiously, I ask, "All of what?" His head jerks around to give me an _are you fucking daft _look. "You don't know?" I slowly shake my head.

He treads towards the wall, and traces his finger along a freelance thread, which shoots off from the Goth Boy slip, as well as the Slade and Terra pictures. It leads across the wall to a section surrounded by books, just like the ones Raven would read as she lay her head in my lap and stroked her hair. Spell books. The picture is one torn from one of the pieces of literature, a drawing of a massive demon, towering over a small, flaming village, roaring into the purple, starry sky. One of his horns is touching a sparkling ball of light, which has burst into a million tiny specks of fire. His gruff, dirty hands hold entire houses, in which the windows hold screaming children and mothers. The true devil to some I know who he really is, and Robin speaks his name aloud, the shear mention of him sending spiders up and down my spine. "Trigon."

"He's coming," Robin's dark stare confirms my suspicions. I pull my hand through my matted hair, crusted from not being cleaned for days. "Shit." I lean back onto a pile of discarded news papers, the darkness becoming a bit to stuffy for my taste. "Well, how is Goth Boy connected to all of this? Why not Slade, who's bargained with Trigon before, or Terra?"

"Slade played with fire once, and he's too smart to get burned again." His attention returns to the walls covered in articles, only having answered one of my questions.

Frustrated, I ask again, "Why not Terra?" Robin slowly turns to look me in the eye, his mask not withholding the solemnity in his gaze. "Because Terra's dead."

"What do you mean Terra's dead? She still murdered Beastboy, so she's the prime suspect." I wave my hands around in frustration, swatting at invisible flies.

Robin sighs, and runs his fingers through his spiked hair, "No. You don't understand. Terra hasn't been alive since she had that final battle with Slade. She never came out of the stone." My confusion must have been pretty obvious, because Robin continued. "Damien, she didn't kill Beastboy."

* * *

Speedy kneels on the rocky, brimstone cliff, towering above the ocean of blackness, a never ending pit of darkness, no bottom in sight. Fire surrounds every part of the vast cavern, a hellish chamber that Trigon so proudly has claimed as his own. Speedy relishes the heat of the flames against his back, feeling the powers that Trigon has given him surge through his veins. He closes his fist, and a fire snuffs out behind him, without so much as a whisper. A wicked grin peels at his face.

"Master, what may I do for you in return for these great strengths you have so graciously granted me?" Speedy's tone hint towards sarcasm, but not enough to show rebellion, just giddiness and greed. Trigon's dominant voice booms throughout the cavern, echoing far longer than possible. **_It seems that the masked boy has found the misguided bird. He is beginning to see the past the deceit that you have created._**

Speedy winced, "I made that trail full proof and through. There is no way…"

**_You have not been thorough enough. He sees past your pathetic sound recordings, and now the lost bid has led him onto my path._**

"Forgive me, my lord. It will not happen again." Speedy bows his head, smugness misguiding him, so that he does not see the gravity of his fault. Trigon' voice rises to more power, if that is even possible.

**_No. It will not._**

The fire begins to inch toward Speedy. He clamps his fist shut, but that only ignites the flames. The panic begins to boil in his gut, and he clambers to his feet, scrambling away from the fire, clambering towards the very edge of the stone. The fire licks at his boots, melting the advanced, fire-proof rubber like marsh mellow. He flips around, onto his knees, begging for mercy. "Please, lord, I beg for your forgiveness!" His voice a high squeal.

**_Coward._**

The flames disappear, receding back against the wall, creating twisted and agonized shadows, displaying what his fate would have been for him, and will be, if he fails again.

**_You are granted one final chance. If you fail me again, your destiny will be far worse than anything you can ever imagine with your tiny, human brain._**

Speedy gulped and nodded, shivering in his melted boots.

**_You will find the masked boy, and end his existence._**


End file.
